Business
Agreement with GSK
Agreement with GSK.
About this update from Futura Medical Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Futura Medical PLC\n04 July 2006\n\n\n\n\nFor immediate release 4 July 2006\n\n\n\n Futura Medical plc\n\n Announces agreement to develop non-prescription\n\n treatment for erectile dysfunction (MED2002) with GlaxoSmithKline plc\n\n\n\nFutura Medical plc (AIM: FUM), the pharmaceutical drug and medical device group\nthat develops innovative products for sexual health, announced today it has\nentered into a development agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare\n(GSK CH) for Futura's topically applied gel (MED20021) for the treatment of\nerectile dysfunction (ED). GSK CH is a division of GlaxoSmithKline plc\n(GlaxoSmithKline), the global pharmaceutical and healthcare group.\n\n\n\nIf successful, MED2002 would be the world's first non-prescription\npharmaceutical treatment for men with ED. By being available from pharmacies\nwithout the need for a doctor's prescription, MED2002 will be a convenient\ntreatment for men with ED.\n\n\n\nWhile some treatments are taken orally or injected, MED2002 is topically applied\nand provides a rapid onset of action. This has considerable advantages in terms\nof giving a local rather than the systemic effect that is associated with other\ncurrent ED treatments.\n\n\n\nTreatments such as phosphodiesterase inhibitors, such as sildenafil, tadalafil\nand vardenafil, have revolutionised the market for ED. This has led to an\nenormous increase in public awareness of this condition, which affects, to some\ndegree, 50 per cent of men aged 45 or over. It is expected that the number of\nmen with ED will double from its current level of 152 million worldwide to 322\nmillion by 2025 due to ageing populations2. Despite this, it is estimated that\nonly 15 per cent of men with ED will seek prescription treatment3. This is\nattributed to the embarrassment associated with the need, on all current ED\npharmaceutical treatments, to consult a doctor in order to obtain a\nprescription.\n\n\n\n\n\nGlaxoSmithKline will provide global regulatory and technical support for\nMED2002. The program, to be run and managed primarily by GlaxoSmithKline, is\nexpected to comprise up to three studies involving approximately 1,500 men with\nED and several additional safety studies to support the existing studies already\ncompleted by Futura. The clinical development program is already in an advanced\nstage of planning and i...